A 31-year-old illegal immigrant living in Tyler was sentenced to 10 years in prison Thursday for driving while intoxicated.Pedro Rivera Rodriguez pleaded guilty in 7th District Judge Kerry Russell’s court for his third driving while intoxicated charge.
A jury also ordered Rodriguez to pay a $10,000 fine.
Rodriguez was arrested Feb. 28 following a three-vehicle crash at the intersection of Front and Lyons streets.
Karen Ream, a forensic scientist with the Texas Department of Public Safety, said she tested the blood alcohol content of a tube of blood collected from Rodriguez after the crash.
The analysis showed that the blood had an alcohol content of .32, four times the legal limit.
“Anything above .08 is legally intoxicated,” Ms. Ream said.
Murry Ballard, testified during the three-day trial that he and his wife were stopped on Front Street waiting for the light to turn when a van, driven by Rodriguez, crashed into their 2004 Chevrolet Tahoe.
“It was a terrible explosion sounding thing,” Ballard said adding that his 65-year-old wife still has back problems from the crash. “It’s a scary thing. Now all you worry about is someone running into you from behind.”Later in the story Rodriguez’s wife, Maria Ochoa, said through a translator that her husband only drinks beer and typically on the weekends.
Mrs. Ochoa said that during the 2008 DWI arrest, her husband was at home caring for their 4-year-old daughter when she asked him to take her out for something to eat.
“I know that maybe it was a mistake for her to have been in the car,” Ms. Ochoa said.
Ms. Ochoa said she would agree that her husband has “an issue” with drinking and would benefit from counseling.
She testified that the only time she saw her husband drink and get behind the wheel were the two times he was arrested.
“The first wreck was because the girl wanted something to eat. The second wreck was because his friends called and he left,” she said.
Ms. Ochoa said she was aware attending drug/alcohol counseling was a requirement of her husband’s December 2008 probation, but that the family could not afford it.
http://www.tylerpaper.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090703/NEWS08/907030324
But can afford to go out and eat, buy beer, why would a wife want her husband who been drinking caring for their 4-year-old daughter when she asked him to take her out for something to eat when he has been drinking ? Is this an indication immigration does play a part in what and how to comply with our laws
http://www.tylerpaper.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090703/NEWS08/907030324
